JBL 31 - Preseason Rankings and other thoughts...

 

Pre-Season Power Rankings

 

1.    Brussels Muscles- the defending champs came to Auction needing only 9 more players. Timmy’s put together another very deep and talented roster with his highest priced player being Ben Simmons. Assuming Simmons plays up to the same levels as last year all will be OK. Brussels also brought in Zach LaVine (playing for a new contract) and OG Anunoby as big names. He’s hoping Mike Conley can stay healthy and Daniel Gafford continues his strong play from late last season. The defending champs are the ones to beat.

 

2.    French Lick Legends – this is an easy ranking since Brussels is in the #1 spot. French gets #2 then. Why? Because he’s been 1^st or 2^nd in the JBL final standings for 7 straight years. SEVEN straight years I say! He’s become the new gold standard. He’s brought back his stud Celtics in Tatum and Brown (both in their final contract year) and now he’s added aging wonders LeBron and CP3. Can they stay healthy? This team is strong in all 7 categories across the board (there’s that number SEVEN again). French will be in the hunt for JBL title #5 all season long.

 

3.    Golden Showers – It’s been 3 years since Golden won his 11^th title. That’s the longest gap between titles in the last 20 years. Can this year’s version of the Showers get back on top? There is scoring aplenty here with Lillard, Middleton, Hayward, SGA, Ingram and Garland. Are there enough rebounds though? Will Nurkic bite Golden again or will he finally stay healthy? Will fan-favourite Otto Porter have a resurgence in GS? This is a veteran team that appears to be going for the big prize again.

 

4.    Maui Ribs – wait, what, the team that’s finished 12^th and 11^th the last 2 years is now a title contender? That’s right. The model loves the Ribs. Strong in rebounding, steals, blocks and ATO - this team is projected to do quite well. This well-balanced roster is led by $46 dollar Joel Embiid (shouldn’t he have gone for more?), the Ball brothers, and a trio of players who were or are Raptors (VanVleet, DeRozan, and KYLE).  The percentages appear to be the challenge here but let’s see if Maui can get back to being a contender again.

 

5.    Seoul Brothers – it seems like the Seoul season could be balancing on the feet of one very large and athletic man. That said, this is a fairly deep team with most categories covered. Capela, Jimmy, Jrue, Pascal are all solid veterans and stat stuffers. Mo Bamba could be a breakout star. And the bench is littered with aging veterans who could easily fill in some weeks if the injury bug bites. But make no mistake, this team will only contend for the title if Zion is playing a lot of games this season.

 

6.    Juan de Fuca Yo Mamas – Another high scoring team in Juan this season. Curry (30ppg) and then MPJ, Randle, Sexton should all top 20ppg. Myles Turner is on blocks duty. Some injuries to get over early in the season (LeVert, DiVincenzo and waiting on Thomas Bryant). The model doesn’t think this team has much ATO so that might be something Juan will need to address down the line. Juan last won a JBL in 2000/01 and they are coming off a 3^rd place finish. Could this be the season?

 

7.    Chilliwack Offs – This is a very different Wack team this year. No more Big-3 and now just a very deep and talented roster with the highest priced player being Westbrook at $37. The Offs appear strong in steals and blocks and ATO but might need some help in FG% and 3PT%. I’m sure the Wack is hoping for breakout seasons from Claxton, Jalen Green or Killian Hayes. Having such a deep team now means only one thing – more trade offers from Idaho. Enjoy those Benny!!

 

8.    Vancouver Jizzlies – The Jizz appear to be a pretty solid team across all categories – except for FG%. My model shows only Valanciunas projected to shoot over 50% from the field. That said, everything else looks competitive. They’ve got Vooch and Jonas in the middle, PG13 being the top dog in LAC; CJ McCollum and Bogdan to add some scoring and 3PT shooting and of course they have Cade Cunningham waiting to unleash himself on the NBA. Could this be the year they beat their best ever finish of 8^th place? Certainly possible.

 

9.    Cali Fornication – I admit it, it took me a bit to figure out a theme team was being built – but man I love it. Giannis $87 and Jokic $79 were absolute musts for this builds so job well done. Apparently there aren’t too many international players that block shots as Cali looks a little light in that area. I guess all of us with international players should be prepared to see some trade offers. Oh, Idaho, just a reminder you have 6 international players that I’m sure Cali would be interested in. Marko – you’re welcome.

 

10.  Bangkok Fighters – I know the Kok is disappointed with this early ranking – but let’s remember – my rankings mean squat. I will say that the Kok is the youngest team drafted this season. It’s a solid and deep team but my model shows concerns with blocks and ATO. Ayton/Carter/Ibaka might not be enough for blocks. And outside of Dejounte who is getting big ATO?  There are loads of guys on this team that are poised for breakout seasons. If a few of them hit – and hit big – the Kok can easily climb the rankings.

 

11.  Idaho Udapimps – This was an interesting build to say the least. Gobert anchors the squad and Idaho is hoping JJJ and Porzingis can stay healthy. He’s got Fox, Kemba, and Booker for strong guard play. He’s got breakout potential in Thybulle, Duarte, Bazley, and Giddey. But the key to this squad could be his injured guys – Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray, and Victor Oladipo. Does he flip those super cheap keepers into win-now talent – or does he try and finish top 8 so he can protect all three? And just FYI – he could protect all 3 of them for just $24 dollars. Idaho’s rankings in this poll mean diddly squat since we know he will be making umpteen trades between now and the end of the season.

 

12.  Bellingham N Eggers – A relatively deep team with some good potential. Should be strong in ATO but some work to do in other areas. Harden and Sabonis are the marquee attractions here with solid role players in behind. Can Kevin Porter, Saddiq Bey, or Bones Hyland carve out big season? Will Spencer Dinwiddie return to his pre-injury form? Can Cole Anthony get enough time to provide value? Some good potential here but I have more questions than answers right now.

 

13.  Arctic Circle Jerks – Crikker was up to his standard approach – draft BIG names early and let auto-pilot do the rest. KD, AD, KAT, D-LO, and Kyrie account for 90% of the salary in Arctic. That’s a lot of eggs in one basket. The team also features 9 players whose salary is $1 or $2 bucks. The other dude is keeper Kyle Kuzma. There is potential here if Arctic binges on the waiver wire. He also has the injured TJ Warren waiting in the wings. Arctic has his work cut out to climb the standings. Plus, let’s not forget, he can also grab a FA from Brussels to complete their earlier trade.

 

14.  Norfolk N Chance – I really don’t know where to go with this analysis. It’s like the Doctor fell asleep for about 2 hours. I was actually worried he might not get to the $200 dollar salary cap floor required for all JBL teams. Norfolk had lots of money late and spent close to $90 bucks on guys like Larry Nance, James Wiseman, Jon Isaac, and Patrick Williams. I do like breakout candidates Precious Achiuwa and Jordan Poole – and he’s got Trae and Beal on board – but there is a lot of work to do here in Norfolk this season.

 

 

With the annual pre-season meaningless projections done – I thought I would finish with some random thoughts from draft night.

 

·         Maui and Golden hunkered down in a small hotel room was not the best plan for air quality

·         I’m still surprised by the CBS position eligibility for some players. (IE. Durant, Anunoby, Hachimura, Covington, and Batum are all eligible at Center???)

·         There are 31 players with a $1 dollar salary

·         As you know, I’m fascinated with Cali’s international them team. And yes, it’s been done before and won a JBL title. So, for Cali’s sake, as of December 2020, there were 107 international players – so the options are bountiful!!

·         There are 7 players in their final JBL contract year and will go back to auction for JBL32 (Christian Wood, Bam Adebayo, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Jusuf Nurkic, Michael Porter Jr, Lonzo Ball)

·         A few JBL teams left some auction money on the table. The Wack only spent $244; Norfolk only $253; and Vancouver only $247.

·         13 NBA rookies made opening night JBL rosters

·         As mentioned above Bangkok (24.0) has the youngest JBL roster while Arctic has the oldest JBL roster (average age 30.2)

·         9 players were selected from the Raptors, Warriors, Clippers and Nets while just 4 players were selected from the Lakers.